A pioneering new way of tackling health problems in Northamptonshire is being rolled out - where social activities are prescribed instead of pills.

Northamptonshire is believed to be the first area in England to recruit the so-called "Social Prescribing Link Workers" across the county.

Dr David Smart is a GP in Northampton. He says social prescribing is a good way to develop links between the community and healthcare professionals.

"What we’re doing is developing the links between primary care and how we can link people to the assets in the community. The things that you can do, like just going for an exercise, going on a course or meditation, and just trying to help people understand how we can get people who are coming to see us with maybe psychosocial problems which we can’t deal with necessarily very well as GPs and how we can link them to where they can get better help in the community." 

For full article and Video interview with Dr Smart, please visit the link.

Livi, which currently provides digital NHS services in Surrey, has partnered with General Practice Alliance to provide online consultations to patients in Northampton .

The service isn't available for all patients in Northampton, but some lucky people do have the opportunity to explore online consultations if they are registered at the following GP Practices; Greenview Surgery, Eleanor Cross Health Care Centre/Delepre Medical Centre, Maple Access Surgery, Abington Medical Centre, The Mounts Medical Centre, Mayfield Surgery, The Willows Surgery (Originally Molla & Kesani), King Edward Road Surgery and Leicester Terrace Health Care Centre.

Patients will be able to sign up to Livi through their practice so they can access video GP consultations, referrals and prescriptions through an app. The appointments will initially be carried out by GPs employed by Livi. The supplier said it plans to offer patients video consultations with their regular doctors in the future.

It began working with the NHS in north west Surrey and has now struck deals with local GP federations, including Northampton General Practice Alliance, to expand its NHS services. 

Deputy operations director at Our Health Partnership, Leanne Hoye, said the deal with Livi offers patients more flexibility, as they can choose to have video GP consultations without leaving their practice in favor of a digital provider. 

She said: “When we were first considering digital providers we did look at a multitude of providers in terms of what we could offer both from a patient point of view and a practice point of view. The ideal would be that we had the opportunity to offer both digital appointments with the providers’ GPs, like Livi, at the times when the practices GPs were unavailable or fully booked.

Chair of the British Medical Association GPs committee Richard Vautrey said Livi’s plans to work in partnership with practices are “far more sensible” than working in competition with them.

He added: “Providing practices the additional capacity and ability to be able to do online activity which they wouldn’t otherwise be able to do can be helpful. It needs to be properly resourced and it is part of the wider need for IT investment in general practice. 

“Practices should be able to offer patients a range of access opportunities which they may not be able to at the moment because they simply do not have the technology.”

For the full article: please visit The Health Service Journal website.

GPA are happy to announce that our GP Extended Access signage has now been put up at Highfield Clinical Care Centre.

We understand it can be tricky to find a certain building or Service when on the A&E site, so we've put plenty of instructions and signs to help you find us.

You can park here for free during your appointment.

There are now more bookable GP appointments in Northampton, making it easier for you to get an appointment at a time that suits you including evenings, weekends and bank holidays.

We are happy to confirm that this service is now being offered by all Northampton GP Practices. The Northampton GP Extended Access Service is an extension of your usual GP practice, it is not a walk-in-service and you will need to make an appointment.

HOW DO I BOOK AN APPOINTMENT?

Contact your GP practice in the usual way to request an appointment. If there is no appointment available for you at the practice they may offer you an appointment with the GP Extended Access Service, if this is right for you.

WHERE DO I GO?

The service is located on the ground floor of Highfield Clinical Care Centre, Cliftonville Rd, Northampton NN1 5BD. 

To find out more, visit our service information page.

Ahead of the International Day of Happiness (20 March), the BBC's Mark Easton finds out how Action for Happiness supporters are helping to boost well-being in Northampton and looks at new research suggesting that governments should focus on happiness rather than economic factors if they want to get re-elected. This was the first broadcast on BBC News at Ten on 19 March 2019.

 “Congratulations on great coverage on BBC last night - a brilliant tribute to all the amazing work going on to support the Action for Happiness mission in Northamptonshire.” - Mark Williamson, Director, Action for Happiness.

For more information visit our Action for Happiness page or Like us on Facebook.

We are happy to announce General Practice Alliance (GPA) and Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) have created a new joint venture ‘Northampton GP and Community Alliance’ (NGCA). Together we will deliver better value primary, community and mental health services in Northampton, new contracts and investments for members and improved links and partnerships with other local organisations.

NGCA is an equal partnership between GPs and NHFT, collaborating to build healthier communities in Northampton. We will be bold, authentic and compassionate and will work to co-produce solutions that value the individual.

We have identified three priority areas for 2019/20, which are introducing an improved primary care mental health pathway, a new First Contact Physiotherapy model and expanding Triage Control.

Please contact us at communications.NGCA@nhs.net if you have any queries about the alliance or would like further information.

David completed the final day of his cycle ride yesterday. What a great achievement and all for a great cause.

"Tailwind really helped although some people blown off bikes by gusts of wind. Great scenery in Scotland"
David would also like to say thank-you to those who very kindly donated money. 

Sarah Deeks, Project Manager of GPA has recently completed a 273km trek through the Grand Canyon on foot from the rim of the Grand Canyon to the summit of the Grand Staircase.

The long distance challenge raised £645 for Mind - Mental Health Charity.

"Thank-you to everyone who supported and donated"

The event was self-supported, meaning she carried everything (9.5kg, plus the mandatory 1.5 litres of water) for the week on her back, with the exception of a tent and sufficient water which was provided by the organisers.

Certificate of Excellence

Janet Renn, Advanced Nurse Practitioner from Kings Heath Practice, has been awarded the Certificate of Excellence following faultless five star feedback received via iWantGreatCare.

Here are some of the fantastic comments Janet has received from her patients:

“I have been seeing nurse Janet now for a few months now and she has been amazing.”

“She was friendly and approachable.”

"Mrs Renn is great at her job, willing to listen.”

“What an outstanding nurse it's great to have someone that is not just there for the job and cares about people and their well-being.”

Well done Janet!

For further information please click here.

General Practice Alliance has been successful in our application to NHS England for Clinical Pharmacists in General Practice. This means that our member practices will have the opportunity to employ a part-funded Clinical Pharmacist by NHS England.

This new and innovative role will provide additional support in meeting the needs of our patients and, enable our member practices the opportunity to employ Practice-Based Clinical Pharmacists to work across Primary Care Hubs in Northampton.